


It Takes Time

by subspacepastry



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Reminiscing, Swearing, Teen Romance, Waiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-28 19:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12613504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/subspacepastry/pseuds/subspacepastry
Summary: The one constant that has been in Steve's life for the past year or so is you. But what happens when he can't get the timing quite right?





	It Takes Time

**Author's Note:**

> Keep in mind, this is a fluffy fic!

One quiet night. Finally, a quiet night after all of the Upside-Down, demogorgon bullshit that came with Hawkins and the group you knew. Jonathan and you had shared a class together and became decent acquaintances, until you found yourself roped into the insanity of it all.

So, you enjoyed it. You finished helping the staff and committee make plans the 'Snow Ball' at the middle school for the day and now you're back in the safe confines of being in a soft bed, home alone while your parents went out for dinner. You threw in a mixtape and pulled out a book, snuggled into the covers of your bed while you let yourself try to forget the events of the past year or so as they drifted into mind.

* * *

_"Fuck… fucking shit fuck! What the fuck?!" You yelled, the lights in the Byers house going haywire while some kind of Lovecraftian horror screeched at you, Jonathan and Nancy._

_You just had to agree to help, didn't you? You just had to tell that kid Mike that you used to read about 'demogorgons' in these old dusty antique shop books. You just had to tell them you had a basic idea of what they were from those stupid little books you bought for decorations. You just had to join them on this life-or-death journey. If they didn't find Will soon, all of you would die._

_"Out of my way!" You heard from behind you, as Steve rushed in, still bloody and beaten, but twirling a spiked baseball bat as he swung it at the creature._

_"Harrington! Shit, be careful!" You yelled, looking around for anything to aid him before you settled on throwing your broken Walkman at it so he wouldn't be caught in those flower petal jaws of hell and led it straight to the bear trap in the hallway._

_Jonathan ran up to it, setting it on fire while the rest of you huffed, trying to catch your breath._

* * *

Halloween parties. You didn't feel uncomfortable at parties, you just hated it when people started getting especially drunk and embarrassing to be around.

You knew it was going to get bad the minute you saw Nancy shoving her way through the crowd and dunking her cup for another drink while Steve tried to get her to stop. Then, the room went silent as the red drink spilled onto her white shirt as she huffed and stomped to the bathroom.

You gave Steve a sympathetic look as he passed through the crowd to her.

* * *

"...Hey." You came out onto the porch where Steve was sat, knowing that whatever happened earlier between him and Nancy wasn't good.

"Hey." He sighed, hunched over with his head in his hands.

"Just, uh… Just wanted to make sure you were doing okay. I mean, I know the situation isn't okay, but still."

"...It's fine. You don't need to worry about me, Y/N."

"But I want to worry. It's kinda my thing now, because of last year."

Steve chuckled wryly, looking up to face you. "I don't blame you. That was some crazy shit last year."

You both sat for a few minutes in silence, until he spoke up again. "She said she didn't love me."

"When you were in the bathroom?"

"Yeah." He gritted his teeth, exhaling softly afterwards. "She said it was all bullshit."

"...Fuck."

"Yeah, I know." He stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Fuck."

"You gonna be alright?" You stood up with him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah. Just feel really shitty." He sighed.

You looked down at the ground, before reaching into your pocket and taking out a penny. "Here, take this."

"A penny?" He furrowed his brows, as you chuckled.

"It's a silver penny. I dunno, felt like it brought me luck, but, you hold onto it for as long as you want."

"Y/N, I don't need-"

You interrupted him, putting it in his palm and closing his hand around it. "Humor me, Harrington."

"...Alright." He gave you a smile. Small, but it was there, as he flipped the penny into the air and caught it.

You nodded, looking up as your friend honked her car. "That's my ride." You began walking, but turned around to face Steve again. "Night."

"Night, Y/N." He looked down at the penny, before putting it carefully in the ID card holder in his wallet.

* * *

It wasn’t long after the party you found yourself watching over a group of unruly kids as they had their fun.

"Hey, Y/N, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." You leaned back into your chair, making eye contact with Dustin while the two of you sat at a table in the arcade.

"Why don't you ever call Steve by his first name?"

You shrugged. "Dunno."

"You really don't know?" Dustin raised his brows, and you smiled.

"Nothing gets past you, does it, kid?" You sat up, twirling your bracelet around your wrist. "I had a crush on him. Well, sort of. I'm inbetween about it. I say his last name because it's not personal, keeps it professional. And god knows we need professional, after all this fucking nonsense we've been through." You confessed to the kid.

"You like Steve?"

"That's what you got out of it?" You chuckled, getting up from your seat. "Come on. Go play with your friends, I'm only here to grab one of those prizes on the wall for a birthday present."

Unfortunately, your time was quickly consumed by issues more pressing than those of an arcade, issues reminiscent of the year that everyone had tried so hard to push to the back of their mind.

* * *

 

Days had passed since he joined Hawkins High School, and Steve Harrington already hated Billy Hargrove with a passion.

When he saw him grab your wrists as you pulled him away from Lucas, everything in his sight was nothing but red.

"After I get you out of the way, Sinclair's dead."

"No. You are." You felt him let go of your wrists as Steve reared back and slammed his fist into the side of Billy's face.

It was honestly scary to watch, and Steve definitely put up a good fight. You couldn't even watch him get pinned to the ground and pummeled until Max stabbed him with the needle.

"Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit. Steve? Steve, hey! Wake up, oh god, wake up!" You felt for a pulse as Mike ran back into the room with rainbow bandaids.

You didn’t have any other option. Steve would be pissed when he woke in the back of a car, but you knew that it’d be worse to let the children under your watch go by themselves to help their friend.

At least Steve was in okay enough shape to stroll into danger with the rest of your ragtag team.

* * *

"Well. This is a fucking barrel of fun, isn't it?" You sighed into the bandana covering your mouth as you walked through the tunnels.

"Here." Steve held his hand out to you, but handing you nothing.

"What?"

He sighed, grabbing your hand in his. "I am not losing you in this place."

You looked down for a bit, thinking he just hadn't realized what those words meant, as you continued the trek through the caves.

He still held onto you when he set the place on fire, and still held onto you when you were all running back to the entrance.

The only time he let go was to get you out of the tunnels before him.

After leaving those tunnels, as the lights of the car beamed brighter than they should, the threat of the Upside-Down seemed to dim and fade.

* * *

Life, as much as it could, returned to what it once was. Time kept ticking on.

And so, a month after the incident, Steve found himself sat in his car for a good five minutes after dropping Dustin off at the dance, reflecting back to everything. That's when he remembered that throughout all of this bullshit, you stuck by him for it all.

'Harrington this, Harrington that.' It was always his last name that came out of your mouth. But he could still remember, clear as day, hearing you call him by his first name as he faded out of consciousness on the Byers' living room floor.

He opened his wallet and saw the silver penny still there, and gave himself one good look in his rearview mirror. He drove off as fast as he could, with only one destination in mind.

It didn’t take long to arrive.

* * *

 

"Harrington, what the fuck are you doing here?" You asked, opening the window to talk to him while he stood in your backyard, his head leaning into the window.

"I needed to see you."

"What, is it important?" You pulled back to let him in, trying to not freak out at the fact that your little crush is very much in your room.

"It's about us, Y/N. I… I wanted to talk."

"Well, go ahead then, talk." You sat on your bed, while he paced in front of you.

"...I wanted to ask you out."

"Excuse me?"

Steve carefully sat down next to you on the end of your bed, rolling the sleeves of his sweater down. "I mean, you're the only person that's been there for me through this. Not just the Upside-Down and the demodog things, but, even with that whole thing with Nancy."

"...Harrington, listen-"

Steve shook his head. "No, you called me Steve before. When Billy beat the absolute shit out of me." He chuckled half-heartedly. "It was nice, hearing it. And I'm not asking you to just jump right into it with me, I just want to give us a chance, y'know?"

You sighed, standing up. "You broke up with Nancy pretty recently. I think you're just a bit raw about it right now."

Steve looked down, mumbling to himself. "Fucking hell, man. Knew I shouldn't have done this."

"Harrington." No response.

"Harrington!" No response.

"...Steve. Listen to me." He stood up, looking down at you. "I'm not saying I'm not interested in you. Because I am. Holy shit, I've been into you for a long time." You placed your hand on his heart. "But, you're still hurting. I can tell. So, for now, I'm going to say no. But if you start feeling better about it, and you still feel that way about me, then you know where to go."

Steve gulped, taking your hand away from his heart and holding it in his. "I told Dustin that there would be electricity when the time is right, and that's when you make your move."

"And you made your move. And I felt the electricity. But you move too fast, and the power goes out."

“…Makes sense.”

You pulled away from him, giving him a soft smile. “This isn’t a rejection, Steve. This is just, something we both need. It takes time.”

“You’re right. I get it.” He let go, climbing back out of the window. “Oh, is it cool if I keep the penny you gave me?”

You raised your brows, crossing your arms. "You kept it?"

"Said to hold onto it for good luck. Still feel like I might need it though. For maybe asking a girl out again or preferably not dying anytime soon."

You chuckled at his response.

"And one more thing?"

You rolled your eyes. "Yes, Harrington?" He simply looked at you with narrowed eyes while you corrected yourself. "...Yes, Steve?"

You walked back up to the windowsill again, where he pulled your chin to his and gave you a kiss, soft and firm. “I’ll come back soon.”


End file.
